Welcome to the City
by alliemdex
Summary: Shawn and his fiancé move to New York, above the Matthews. Sequel to Girl Meets His Family.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.**

I hate moving, I officially hate moving. Our stuff is two weeks delayed, meaning that we have been living in New York on a blow up mattress. Luckily we had ordered new furniture for Ellie's room, so that was able to be set up on time. But living without my stuff was driving me crazy. The only good thing about being delayed is that we were able to paint without the furniture and clean the place. But eating and sleeping on the floor was losing its thrill with me. I was getting cranky and my back had started hurting.

My new job had started and I was beginning to get myself accustomed to the new company. Shawn had taken some time off, to work on a personal project He didn't want to be out of town when the movers finally decided to show. Luckily we lived above Corey and Topanga, so we were able to spend a lot of time down there with them.

On the 15th day, I woke up and my back was so sore. And I felt nauseous. I rolled out off the floor and got sick in the bathroom. I don't know what is going on with my system, but it is definitely not my friend. When I get back into bed, Shawn rolls over and hugs me.

"Still don't feel well?"

"No, I am blaming my lack of furniture."

He laughs at me. "I blame the vendor food that you keep eating." What can I say I love halal food.

"Okay so that is probably more of the culprit. I don't understand how you cannot eat it, it smells so good."

"Because I like my stomach, thank you."

"I am so tired of living like this…"

"Luckily they are delivering tomorrow. You took the day off, right?"

"Yep and Friday."

"Oh that's right Friday… wedding dress shopping."

"And my appointment." I had made an appointment with Topanga's gynecologist for my yearly physical and then to talk about my fertility. Shawn had wanted to come. I tried to tell him that it was not going to be that exciting. But he said it would be interesting, plus he had some questions. Then Riley and Miya booked an appointment to go wedding dress shopping. So all the girls were going to that. I was just happy to start trying stuff on, because every day they show me a new magazine with a new dress style.

"That's right, you should ask about your stomach thing."

I smile and curl back around him. "We will have our bed tomorrow and our furniture tomorrow."

"You can't wait, can you."

"You don't know how hard it has been to not jump into bed with Ellie every night."

"I won't lie, I sleep there during the day." He laughed and I hit his shoulder and we start to wrestle a bit."

"Stop, stop, stop… too much movement." I lay back on my side and curl up a bit. This stomach thing is annoying. Shawn spoons around me.

"I don't like you not feeling well. Can you promise not to eat anything weird tonight?" He kisses my cheek and rubs my stomach a bit. It feels better with him doing that. Its funny that is what I do when Ellie has a stomach ache. I never knew it actually helped. "I don't want you to go to work today, I just want to snuggle with you all day." He holds me tighter.

"Me too, but I have just gotten into the swing of things. And tomorrow I'm off, so I need to get some things finished. You were going to the library today and meeting with your publisher."

"Yeah, he wants to look at my outline." Shawn had officially started writing his book. He always talked about it. But he decided it was time. He still hasn't told me what its about.

"Okay, I will pick up something for dinner."

"No, let me make you something. Your stomach needs a rest from takeout food."

"But we have no cooking stuff?"

"Luckily, we have very accommodating neighbors." I smile, it has been nice living about Corey and Topanga. Although I can't wait for my bed, because I was informed that they could hear us below them. Thank god our bed is above them and not Riley or Auggie. I cuddle in a little closer to Shawn, I really don't want to move. But I hear little footsteps and then someone sneaks into our room. She jumps in the middle of us, with a oomph.

"Careful sweetie, your mom is still not feeling well." Shawn moves so she is between us and I turn over.

"Today in school, we are going to the grocery store!" She was very excited about this. They had been learning numbers so they were going to go the store in her class as a field trip. "The teacher said we each needed $1."

"Yep, that is so you each could buy one thing." I knew the teach was going to buy them something and I knew it was from her own money, so I slipped an envelope with a $20 along with the permission slip. Just in case some of the kids couldn't bring in the money. I look over at the clock 6:30, ugh. "We have got to get this show on the road."

The nice thing about Shawn working for himself is that he was always ready to get Ellie ready in the morning. And these days he walks her to school. And I have been taking the subway with Topanga. So far this whole living near each other is working out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.**

I can hardly sleep the next night, I know it is sad but I am so excited that our stuff will be arriving. It doesn't seem real yet and I know that all of our things will complete the move. I love my stuff, it is the perfect mixture of Shawn and me. When he moved in with me, we decided to buy some new furniture, rather than fighting about which items to keep. Our bedroom set was a perfect mixture of our two styles, modern and metal for Shawn but with old textured wood, for me. The couch on the other hand was pure Shawn, he had convinced me that a white couch was a good idea. That couch will need to be replaced in another year. We have done a good job of keeping Ellie from ruining it but there are only so many blankets. But I let Shawn choose because he loved it so much. The first time Ellie spilled something on it, I thought Shawn was going to lose it. But instead he walked outside and took a breath and came back to talk with Ellie. He was very nice to her, but Ellie knew she was in trouble. She felt so guilty she didn't sit on the couch for a week. I had to point out to Shawn what she was doing. He hated that he had caused that. So the next week, we ate dinner on the couch. So yes the couch will be replaced.

We then had all of our artwork and books. Between Shawn and me, we could start our own library and gallery. He had a lot of books, I had a lot of books. It took us a day to organize and ween out the copies. Then the artwork. He had photos he had done, and I had my collection of my art. That was going to be interesting to figure out what to do with because there was not a lot of wall space.

So I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about how everything was going to be arranged. My stomach gurgled a bit, but it felt better today. Maybe Shawn was right and my food choices were making me sick. Last night he had made me a potato with asparagus. Not exciting but good for me.

I head Shawn move next to me and then pull me to him. "Stop thinking so much, you are making it hard to sleep."

"How did you know I was up?"

"Because you are planning and I can feel it." He kisses the top of my head.

"I am just so ready to get this whole move finished so we can move on."

"I know."

"We need to plan the wedding."

"I know." Shawn mumbled. "Now go back to sleep."

Shawn and I had already decided on a venue. It was a nice ski resort upstate. Shawn had visited there last year and had sent me pictures. There was a beautiful room overlooking the woods. Invitations had already been sent out. All we had to do was plan the actual day and get everything ready. It was going to be a small wedding. Aaron was going to perform the ceremony. I decided to not include my family in my wedding party, since we were only inviting family really. Johanna was maid of honor and Topanga was a bridesmaid. Shawn had Corey and Jack. We had chosen a wedding date, sooner rather than later. So in three months Shawn and I were going to be married and I couldn't wait.

I think that once I made the decision I was ready to start. As I lay there thinking, I put my hand on his heart. Shawn instinctively put his hand over mine. I snuggled closer.

"You are still thinking." He mumbled.

"Sorry."

"We will have plenty of time to plan everything. The next step is getting you the dress. Which you will do on Friday."

"You sure you don't want to come to come with us?" I thought it might be fun for him to come.

"Nope, its bad luck. Plus I want to be surprised when I see you walk down the aisle."

"You are a romantic."

"Yep, and you are stuck with me."

"I wouldn't have it any differently." We kiss. "Ugh I really can't sleep."

"Okay then let's talk, until you get tired."

"I love you." I learned early on that Shawn doesn't like it when I can't sleep. He will try to stay up with me as much as possible. He likes me to tell him stories about my childhood. I start to tell him about our house in Alaska and how Ben and Ethan use to drag me out on the 4 wheelers. I use to act so brave, but I was always petrified when we went out. I stopped talking when I could hear Shawn slightly snoring. I decided to try to fall asleep again.

The next morning, we got Ellie up and to school. The movers came early and had everything in by the afternoon. All that was left was unpacking and putting somethings back together. Corey came by to help after school to help. Ellie was playing down with Auggie and Riley and Miya were watching them. I was so excited to have everything here. My first goal was to get the kitchen done, then the living room. Shawn and I were going to work on Ellie's room next.

It was around 5, when Ellie came in with a woman in toe.

"Mommy, this lady is here for Mr. Matthews. Do you know where my Rebecca doll is yet?" We made the mistake of packing her Rebecca doll and she has been wanting it ever since they closed the moving truck doors.

I wipe my hands and walk over to them. "Not yet, Abba and I will find it tonight. Now go tell Corey he has a visitor." Ellie runs into the hallway. I turn my attention to the woman in front of me, she looks nice. "Hi, I'm Natalie. Are you a friend of Corey's?"

"Yeah, we went to school together. I thought I would surprise Corey and Topanga."

"I am sure they will love seeing you." I hear Corey being dragged by Ellie into the living room.

"I am coming, I am coming… Angela!" Then the two are hugging, "What are you doing here?"

"I am here on business and thought I would come early and see you all."

"Does Topanga know?"

"I texted her a little bit ago. She said, she was coming home early."

"Angela?" Shawn walks in and smiles at the woman. They both look at each other for a moment.

"Hey, your in New York?"

"Yep, just moved here." They are both still just watching each other.

"You look good." This woman, Angela, finally walks over to him.

"You do too. Its been a while." He gets the coy Shawn smile.

"Abba," Ellie breaks the moment between them and Shawn shakes his head a moment and looks towards my daughter. "Did you find Rebecca?"

Shawn picks her up. "Sweetie, we haven't gotten to your room yet." He kisses her head.

"I wanted to bring her to daddy's tonight." She starts to pout a little.

"Honey, what if we find her tonight and bring her tomorrow to the store."

"But what if she gets scared tonight without me?"

"Oh if she gets scared, well I wouldn't want that. Give me a moment and I will find her. Deal?" She smiles at him. "Elianna, this is my friend Angela. We grew up together."

"Like you and Mr Matthews?"

"Exactly. Angela this is Elianna, my soon to be official step-daughter."

"Hi." She smiles.

"And this is Natalie, my fiancé." He looks over at me. We look at each other for moment and he winks at me.

Then Topanga comes running in "Angela!" She screams and the two start hugging each other. Miya, Riley and Auggie are following her. Angela hugs them. Shawn walks over to me and kisses my head.

"Hey Miya, you think you could help Ellie look for her doll?" He puts Ellie down and gives Miya the boxcutter he has been using.

"Any clue which box?" Miya asks.

"A box marked toys."

"Why do I think that is not just not one box?"

"Because its not, but I think they are in one area. Ellie will help you. She packed the doll." Yep that was the mistake we made, letting Ellie help in packing.

"Come on kid, let's find Rebecca." Miya takes Ellie's hand and she leads her back.

"I'll help." Riley follows. Corey just smiles.

"So Angela, how long are you here for?" Corey asks.

"A week, but I came early thought maybe we could visit."

"Yeah!" Topanga claps her hands. "Where are you staying?"

"At the hilton in times square."

"So Shawn, you just moved here?" Angela asks him.

"Yeah, Nat got a new job out here. So we thought it was a good time to move back east."

"And our stuff just arrived." I answered. Shawn had his hand on my back. He was being weird. "You know what, how about you guys go downstairs and visit. I want to get some more done for the night and then maybe we can order some takeout? And Angela you can tell me all about what these 3 were really like as kids."

"That would be great." Topanga took Angela's hand and they walked downstairs.

"You sure about this? I can stay and help more." Shawn doesn't really want to go downstairs.

"Its fine. When is the last time you have seen her?"

"15 years. We talked and wrote since then but I haven't seen her since then." He looks a little lost.

"Wait, is that Angela? Your Angela?" It suddenly all clicks. She was his first love. He had told me about her. About how she had left for Europe with her father, that he had wanted her to stay but couldn't ask that of her. How they wrote and talked for months and then they slowly lost contact. They had talked a couple of times over the years. He had read her stories and she had sent him notes on his stuff. But they hadn't ever really reconnected. Time and place, he said, they were good at that time and place. She helped him to understand that somebody could love him and that he was lovable.

"Yep." He looked at the door.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," He shook his head, "its just weird seeing her again."

So I asked, "Should I be worried?"

He gave me the same look he gave Ellie earlier, like he was being taken out of trance. He smiled at me and kissed me. "Not one second. I just wasn't expecting to see her. There was just a lot of stuff there."

"Stuff?"

"Angela and I would have never lasted. We were too alike. She was broken, I was broken. When your kids that seems to fit, but it doesn't last. Its exhausting. I needed someone who wasn't broken."

"So I am not broken."

"Not in the way we were. And no, you are not broken and that is why I love you."

I smiled at him. He had told me several times, how refreshing it was how normal my childhood was. How it reinforced the idea that can be that way. I think that is why he always stuck up for Noah, because he didn't want Ellie to grow up like he did. I would always tell him that now she will have 2 dads.

"Okay, so you go spend time with Angela. I will be down in a bit. I just really want to at least get the kitchen finished."

"I can help."

"Go…" I push him out the door. I turn to finish the kitchen. I really just want to be settled in.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.**

A couple of hours pass and I am done with the kitchen and working on the living room. I am apparently in the zone because I don't hear Noah knocking.

"Hey, I thought there would be more people here than just you." He lets himself in.

"They are downstairs. An old friend from school surprised them, so they are downstairs visiting."

"And you stayed to unpack."

"Its either that or not sleep tonight." Noah walks over to the art I had leaning against the wall.

"I always liked this." It was a picture I had done in school, transposing my face and my great-grandma's.

"Yeah, its Shawn's favorite too. So are you ready for this?"

"Absolutely. I got her room all ready for her."

"Her room?"

"Okay its my office but I put in a pull away couch and added some Ellianna decor."

"She will love it."

"Thanks Nat for helping me with this."

"Your welcome." When we had decided to move here, Shawn and I had a long discussion with Noah. We set some expectations with him and he has been doing really good. This was the first official night over, so I was a little nervous about it. "You know if you get called in, you just have to call and we will come and get her."

"I know. And I won't get called in."

I look around. I am at a good stopping point. "But if you do, just call. Let's go get her." I close up and grab my keys and phone. "So what are your plans for tonight?"

"I was thinking we go to Shake Shack and then watch Annie"

"She will like that and you know you are bringing her to Nordstrom's at 1."

"Yep we will be there at 1. She is really excited about tomorrow."

I knock on the door. Corey and Topanga say that I don't have to, but it just feels weird. I hear a collective "Come in." When we walk in everyone is one the couch talking. Shawn is holding Ellie and looks like Angela is telling a story. As soon as she sees Noah she runs to him.

"Daddy!" He picks her up.

"Hey sweetie, ready for our slumber party?"

She shakes her head. "We are going to Shake Shack, right?" He nods. "And then movie and then we are going to help Mommy find a wedding dress."

He smiles, "You are going to help Mommy find a wedding dress. I don't think I would be very helpful." Shawn walks over and the two shake hands.

"Did you know that Shawn didn't know Uncle Jack until he was in high school?"

"No, I didn't know that." Noah responds and smiles at Shawn.

"She is fascinated by their stories about me." Shawn replies. Its true, Ellie idolizes Shawn and whenever somebody tells a story about him she is amazed. He told Corey and Topanga to be careful about some of their stories. He doesn't want Ellie to know the rough parts of his childhood.

"He is also lived with his teacher for a year, when his dad was traveling."

"Well that sounds fun. Isn't that kind of what Riley does?"

"Oh my gosh, you are right." She then runs to Riley and says, "you live with your teacher!"

"I know." Riley mocks excitement.

"Hey kiddo, let's get your stuff and go. I have been craving some cheese fries all day."

"Okay." She smiles and grabs her bag and her Rebecca doll. "Is it okay if Rebecca comes?"

"Absolutely." He takes the bag.

"Her phone is in the front pocket and she has her favorite pajamas. Don't forget her allergy medicine in the morning. And if you need anything just call." I start to list off all of the things he needs to remember.

"Relax, my lovely ex-wife. Everything will be fine." Noah kisses my cheek and we both stare at each other for a moment. These are the moments when I remember why I fell for him, everything was always great in his world. Everything worked out perfectly, no worries.

"Hey pumpkin, give me and your mom a hug." Shawn kneels down and Ellie hugs him tightly. "If you need anything just call okay. Have fun with your dad."

She then turns to me and hugs me tightly. "Have fun sweetie. We will see you tomorrow."

"Is Abba coming?" She asks.

"Okay so I think you are stalling." He hugs us both. "And yes I will see you at the store. But I am not staying for the wedding dresses. But I could come back as you try on your flower girl dresses, if you want?'

She shakes her head and then hugs her again. "Say goodbye to everyone." Ellie runs over and hugs everyone one at a time. Then walks over to her dad. He picks her up.

"Have fun!" I say as they walk out and Shawn closes the door and wraps his arms around me.

"Wow, you two are so alike. Now breath. Everything will be fine. They will have fun. Remember its good for her." I hold Shawn tighter as he talks. "I thought you were going to be down earlier?"

"I got a little focused."

"Hmm, is there anything left for me to do?" He teases me.

"Yes." I swat him. "We still need to do the other rooms and then figure out where we are going to hang the pictures."

"Darn, I was hoping you would take care of all of that. We ordered some Indian food. I got you something mild."

"Thanks."

"Your stomach still upset?" Topanga asks. Unfortunately I had gotten sick on our way to work one day.

"Yeah, its better. I think all of the moving has made me nervous."

"Its not the moving, its her food choices."

"But you made me a potato last night?" Were Shawn and I really going to argue about this.

"And you had a gyro and a pretzel on your way home."

"Oh…" Didn't know he knew that.

"I just have been craving bad food lately. I don't really know why? It just smells good."

"Because its good." Angela breaks in. "I have the hardest time when I am here not only eating from the vendors."

"Exactly, they are good."

"I can't win." Shawn sits on the couch, I sit next to him.

"So Angela, what do you do?"

"I work for a publishing house in London. I find new authors."

"Wow, so you live in England?"

"Yeah I have lived there for 12 years. I love it. What do you do?"

"I'm in marketing, I do brand management."

"That sounds interesting. Shawn says you are a really talented artist too."

I smile at Shawn, "Shawn likes my stuff."

"So where are you from?"

"Everywhere, I was a military brat so I moved around a lot."

"I was a military brat too, what branch?"

"Air Force, you?"

"Army. Your daughter is adorable, Natalie."

"Thanks." I sigh a little and check my phone.

"It's her first official sleepover at her dad's house. So Natalie is a little nervous." Shawn tries to explain.

"Well she seems like a great kid and she is really excited about you two getting married."

"Yeah, I think she loved Shawn before I did. She idolizes him."

"I could see. She was so cute when I was telling a story about him. She was playing with Auggie and then came over and sat on his lap."

"Yeah, I think she has a hard time thinking of Shawn as a kid. So when she hears stories, she keeps trying to put two and two together."

"I always have to be careful what stories we talk about." Shawn adds. "Because I grew up so differently from Natalie, she thinks its cool. But there are some parts of my childhood that she doesn't need to know yet."

The doorbell rings with our take out. We spend the rest of the night talking and eating. Shawn and I leave early, leaving Topanga and Angela there to talk.

As we enter the house, Shawn kisses me. "I love you."

"I love you too." Shawn continues to kiss me and walk to our room.

"Bed." He says. The bed has not been made. It is just the mattress. Shawn starts to undress me. "Ellie is not here and bed."

"Shawn, slow down there buddy." He stops and looks at me. "You okay?"

"Yes." He kisses my neck.

"Shawn" I try to slow him down, but then he kisses me below my ear and we are all over

A couple of hours later, Shawn looks over at me. "Maybe we should have put on sheets."

"You going to tell me what that was about?"

"What?"

"I mean don't get me wrong. It was nice, but you were just really focused."

"Nice, it was nice." He pins me.

"Shawn, is this about Angela?"

"No." He pouts.

"Shawn, you have been weird since you saw her."

"I have?"

"Yes. So talk to me."

"I don't know, it was just weird seeing her again and then seeing you. Its hard not to feel like that same confused and scared kid I was when she left."

"You aren't that kid anymore. Now you are dad and going to be a husband. You know who you are and she helped you get there."

He kisses me. "You are amazing, you know that."

"You are not so bad yourself. Now can we put some sheets on?"

We spend the rest of the night putting our stuff away.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.**

The next morning, we work a bit on Ellie's room. She has texted and is having a great time with her dad. Our appointment is at 11. Shawn is nervous when we walk into the doctor's office. Topanga had recommended her doctor. Noah had said he heard good things about her. I always hate having to meet new doctors. I liked though how she worked. I got a welcome letter a couple of weeks ago, asking for my health history and concerns/questions. Then she scheduled for me to get a blood work up before I came, so we would be able to really talk.

"You don't have to come in with me." Shawn's leg is shaking. He hates doctor's, which is why his wanting to come is odd.

"No, I want to come. We are doing this together right." I smile and take his hand.

"Yep together." A couple of weeks ago I asked him what he would do if I couldn't have any more children. It was a good discussion to have. He said that all he wants is to have a family with me, if that means just the three of us, than that is all he needs.

They call me into the room. Shawn sits in the corner as the nurse takes my vitals. She asks me some questions. I stumble though on when my last period was. I have to look at my phone and realize that it was before christmas. Shawn tries to help, but he can't remember either. What is going on with my body, how did I not realize that I missed my period last month. It must have been going off the birth control affected me more than I thought.

Dr. Jones walks in and introduces herself.

"Hi Natalie, I'm Dr. Jones." She shakes my hand. "And you must be Shawn." She shakes Shawn's hand too. "We don't often get fiancé's in the room for a physical. But I understand you two have some questions. You were referred by Topanga Matthews?"

"Yes, she's a friend of ours and we just moved here."

"Very nice family, I delivered both of their children. Mr. Matthews is a bit of a character, but very sweet." Shawn chuckles.

"Shawn grew up with them." I tell the doctor.

"Oh, well that explains why you look familiar. Were you there when their first child was born?"

Shawn looks at her and suddenly realizes that he has met her before. "Yes, I was."

"You were the nice man, who calmed Mr. Matthews down."

"He was a little high strung that day."

"Yes he was. Well it is good to see you again." Shawn smiles at me. The doctor then turns to me and smiles. "Let's see, so I got your record from your last doctor and your history. I see you have one child. Any complications with that pregnancy?"

"I was on bed rest for the last month and she was born 5 weeks prematurely." I had never really talked to Shawn, but I didn't have an easy pregnancy.

"It says that you had high blood pressure. Any issues since then?"

"You had high blood pressure with Ellie." Shawn looks at me concerned.

"Yeah, they thought I had pre-eclampsia, so they did an emergency c-section. But since then no issues with my blood pressure"

"And the miscarriage." Okay so the problem with having Shawn in here when she recounts my history is that the things you didn't tell him or forgot to tell him come out. Like my miscarriage.

"Yeah, um it was a year before that around the 2nd month." Shawn is just watching me. I look over at him. "It was a hard time for me, I try not to think about it much." That was the first time I had started really questioning my marriage. But Noah had been so good to me through that whole thing, that I thought we could work it out.

"Have you been having any problems lately?" The doctor asks.

"Her stomach has been bothering her." Shawn speaks up. I can tell he is a little hurt that I didn't tell him about my pregnancy complications.

"Yeah, I have been getting sick a lot lately."

"Okay, any other issues."

"No, not really."

"And you have been off any form of birth control for over a month right?"

"Yeah, I thought I should let it clear my system.

"So, we got your blood work done." She looks at my file. "And you are wanting to get pregnant again?"

"Yes. We haven't officially been trying, but we want to get pregnant and I know I am older than I was the last time, which makes it more complicated."

"It does. I would say due to your history and age, I would want to treat this pregnancy as high risk. But given the fact you haven't had any issues since, I see no reason why this pregnancy wouldn't come to term and you will have a healthy baby."

I am confused by her wording.

"So we are good to officially start trying?" Shawn asks.

"Trying?" The doctor looks at me confused.

And suddenly a lightbulb goes off and everything adds up, "Wait am I pregnant?"

"Yes, I thought that you already knew that?"

"I'm pregnant?"

"I would say 4 weeks. Now if you want to lie on your back, we can see how things are going so far.

"Wait, what I'm pregnant." I feel like I was just hit by a mack truck and then it all starts to make sense. My crankiness, my weird cravings, my stomach. "I'm pregnant." I look over at Shawn, he is just staring blankly.

The doctor looks at both of us and realizes that we didn't actually know that. "Let me give you two a moment." The doctor slips out.

"You're pregnant?" Shawn finally whispers.

"Yeah."

"We are going to have a…" tears are forming in his eyes. He gets up and walks over to me.

"Your going to have a baby. There is a baby in there." He puts his hand on my stomach.

"I can't believe I didn't even think about that. How could I not have noticed?" I start to cry.

"Shh, why would you? There was so much going on, how could you?"

"Because I should have."

"Hey, its okay. We are going to have a baby." He is smiling broadly.

"Yeah, are you ready?"

"Absolutely. You?"

"I guess. I think I am just a little shocked." There is a knock on the door. Shawn kisses me. The doctor comes back in.

"You two good." She asks.

"Yeah, it just caught us by surprise."

"You have been birth control for a long time. Its not surprising that you missed the signs. Well let's see how you both are doing." The rest of the examination goes well. She wants to see us in a month. She prescribes me with some pre-natels. She tells me not to lift anything over 20lbs and to not take on any stress. Shawn is quiet throughout the whole rest of the appointment.

When Shawn and I walk out of the doors. I stop and lean against the wall and breath. Shawn stands in front of me and just watches.

"Okay, so you are not okay." And with that I start to cry.

"I am, I really am. Its just so much right now. I didn't think it would be so easy. I thought we would have to work harder at it. I just, I just don't want it not to be right." Shawn holds me.

"What do you mean not right?"

I breathe, I need to tell him. "When I had my miscarriage. It was an accident, I hadn't wanted to be pregnant, but it just happened. And just when Noah and I got to wrap our heads around it. I lost it. It was horrible. I was bleeding and they had to wait for the bleeding to stop before they could help me. I lay in the hospital just letting the baby die and there was nothing I could do. Noah and I hadn't told anyone, so no one in my family knows, it happened. I just kept thinking that it was all too easy and that is why it didn't work out. Then with Ellie, we tried for months until I finally got pregnant."

"So this was too easy?" Shawn kisses my forehead and wipes my eyes. People walk by looking at us. "Hey, sometimes easy is good. Maybe this time, its easy because its meant to be and the universe is just trying to tell us that we are right." I sniffle. "Why didn't you tell me about the miscarriage?"

"I don't know. I try not to think about it much. My own mother doesn't know. I felt so damaged after it, that I try to forget it."

"Okay so new rule, we don't keep stuff like that from each other. You know all of my damaged stories, its okay for you to be a little damaged too and I want to know."

"Okay." I kiss his lips. "We are going to have a baby." I whisper. He smiles, his big smile.

"We are going to have a baby." He repeats. "And I am marrying you."

"Oh god, I am going to be pregnant when we get married."

"You are going to be four months. At least, they won't say its a shot gun wedding."

"At least, I will only be four months."

"Hey Natalie"

"Yeah Shawn"

"Thank you for having my baby." He whispers quietly and kisses me.

"You're welcome. Can we not tell anyone right away, in case…"

"Nothing bad is going to happen, but we don't have to tell anyone if you want."

"Even Corey and Topanga." I know this isn't possible for him, but we can try.

"Okay, but I don't know long I can do that."

"Try." I smile at him and he shakes his head at me.

"Okay, well we need to get some food in my baby momma before she tries on dresses."

"Well baby momma, wants a hot dog." I smile.

"Well baby momma is going to get a salad." He grabs my hand we start walking towards a deli.

"But baby momma really wants a hot dog with sauerkraut and lots of mustard. Maybe some onions too and cheese."

"Baby momma is going to get a spinach salad with grilled chicken and tomatoes."

"You are no fun."

"Oh just you wait, you are carrying my baby, the fun is just beginning."

We both stop and look at each other. I put my hand on his cheek. I love making him smile like this. I love that he is going to be the most over-protective, annoying expectant father. I love that when I go to try on dresses, he is going to drag Corey to a bookstore and buy every baby book there is. I love that he won't be able to not tell Corey. And I love that he is in my life.

We get to the store a little after 1 and everyone is there. I had even invited Angela, since she wanted to spend time with them. Ellie comes running up to us and I go to pick her up, but Shawn does it instead and looks at me. I sigh a little. She starts to talk all about her evening. Apparently it went well. Noah gives me a smile and a wink. Then says goodbye to everyone.

"Okay so this where Corey and I leave you all. Have fun and if you want to come back just text me. We won't be far." He kisses me and puts Ellie down. Corey and him head out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters.**

The sales clerk introduces herself to me and I bring Topanga with me into the dressing room. We talk about the wedding and what I am looking for. When she leaves to pull dresses, Topanga turns to me.

"How did the appointment go?"

"Great, Dr. Jones is nice."

"Yeah, she was really helpful during my pregnancies. So what did she say about you?"

"Okay, so we promised we were not going to tell yet, but I already know that he has told Corey by now." I breath. "I'm 4 weeks pregnant."

Topanga squeals, "I was wondering if you might be."

"What? Why?"

"Hello morning sickness."

"True. I just don't know why it didn't even occur to me, I mean all of the signs were there."

"You were busy with the move."

Before we can talk more, the woman comes back with dresses. Topanga goes back and sits with everyone. Miya brought her camera to take pictures for my family.

I tried on several dresses and finally there is one that is just perfect and I start to cry. Nobody understands. Topanga comes up and hugs me. "Is this the one?" She asks. I shake my head, yes. "I think its perfect."

"Me too."

"I am going to be fat.."

"You are going to be glowing." She replies. "Now no more tears, let's get a picture of you in this." She she wipes my eyes. And tells Miya to take a picture. As I go back into the dressing room, I text Shawn that we are ready for him to come back. I then text my mom a picture of the dress, she texts back that she loves it. I make an appointment to come back for a fitting and change back. When I come out of the dressing room, I see Shawn with Ellie and I start to cry again.

He runs up and hugs me. I hear Riley ask what is up with all of the crying. Corey and Topanga both shush her.

"You okay." Shawn moves my face so I look at him.

"Yeah, it was just a little much."

"We can do the flower girl and bridesmaid shopping later?"

"No, let's do it now."

"Everything okay." Corey walks up.

"Yeah, just a little emotional."

"I saw the dress and you are going to be beautiful." I start to cry again and go to hug Corey. He whispers "Congratulations Momma." I look at him and hug him more. I then look at Shawn and he shrugs. Topanga then gets up and hugs Shawn and whispers to him.

"You are as bad at this as I am." Shawn tells me. I shrug and smile.

"Okay so you all are being so weird." Riley says to all of the commotion.

"Get used to it kid, they are just get weirder." Angela answers.

For the rest of the day, Corey and Shawn stayed with us as we looked at bridesmaid and flower girl dresses. Shawn was so happy being with everyone. I love him like this. When he doesn't allow his own head to get in the way. And allows himself to realize that he deserves this.

Picking a flower girl dress was a bit of a nightmare and I think it gave Ellie an anxiety attack. She was so intent on making sure she got the right one and was so confused by what everyone was saying. That by the end of the day she had 10 dresses that she wanted to wear. Shawn and I had to have a pow-wow with her in the dressing room.

"Okay Ellie, you have to pick one dress, you can't get all 10." I try to say calmly but I am tired and drained. So I am having a hard time keeping my emotions in check.

"But Topanga liked this one and Riley liked this one…." She starts walking through them one by one.

"Sweetie, which one did you like?" Shawn grabs her arms and pulls her in front of him. He can tell that I am about to break and is trying to figure out what is the best way to end this day.

"I don't know." She pouts and is about to cry.

"Okay so how about we do this. I will take pictures of each of the dresses. We will go home and you will sleep on it. Then tomorrow you, me and Mommy will come back and pick one."

"But I wanted to get one today."

"I know, but you can't pick one. So the best thing for you to do is sleep on it."

"I wanted one today."

"And you wanted the perfect one, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Then be patient, you have to give yourself time to find it and there are a lot of dresses out there."

"But I really wanted one." She starts to cry. Shawn holds her. "Hey, why don't we go home and take a nap. You had a big day and I think we all need some sleep." He looks over at me and can see that I am starting to cry. There is a knock on our door. Corey pokes his head in.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, I think though we are exhausted and need to go home." The two look at each other for a moment and I can tell they are having a secret conversation. Corey looks at me and smiles.

"Well, it has definitely been exciting. Why don't you guys go? Topanga and I can finish up here.

I stand up and grab our coats. "Thanks, Corey." It is really nice to have friends like these. You don't have to worry about being rude or keeping up appearances, just be you.

Shawn and I put on Ellie's coat. We say goodbye to everyone. Shawn invites Angela and everyone to dinner tomorrow night. And they agree. I didn't know he was going to do that, but it gets us out of dinner tonight. He puts his arm around my waist and we leave. Instead of the subway, we take a cab. Ellie is out before we get home and Shawn carries her up the stairs, we tuck her in and then go to our room. I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.


	6. Chapter 6

I wake up a couple of hours later and notice that Shawn is not in bed. Instead, he is on the floor unpacking some of our boxes.

"How long have I been out?" I turn to my side and watch him.

"A couple of hours."

"Ellie?"

"Still out. She was definitely worn out from today." Now that I am awake Shawn breaks down some boxes. I notice that he has gotten almost all of our clothes unpacked. I should be grateful, but I know I will have to go back and reorganize my stuff. Shawn sits on the bed. "How is Mama doing?"

"Tired. I can't believe you got all of this done while I was asleep."

"Yeah I was motivated. So wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses, check?"

"Yep, check. Now on to the food."

"For that we have to go up there for a weekend."

"Yeah, have you thought about which weekend because I can ask Corey and Topanga to watch Ellie or maybe my parents can come. They are dying to come visit once we get settled."

"Or Ellie could stay with Noah?"

"I am not ready for that. Last night went well apparently, but for me to be out of the city when she has a sleepover, not yet."

"You have got to give him a chance. He is trying."

"Shawn, I love that you stick up for him. But it is going to take me a while to believe that he is really trying. It has been too long with him not trying."

"I know that he hurt you, but you have got to forgive him. He is Ellie's father and she needs to know him."

I kiss him. "I know that. I do and I am trying."

He sighs and then looks at his hands. "Why didn't you tell me you had a hard time carrying Ellie?"

"It wasn't hard, I just had some complications."

"And what were they?" I can tell he is trying not to upset me, but he is a little hurt that I never said anything about it.

"I had high blood pressure and was put on bed rest when I was 27 weeks. And I was there until I was at 35 weeks. I started getting really bad headaches and nausea. My mother took me to the hospital and I had protein in my urine. So they induced me. I never really found out if it was pre-eclampsia or if I just had some symptoms. But it all happened quickly and I had a hard time following what was going on. I remember when they gave me the anesthesia that Noah had come down from surgery and he was already in scrubs. But Ellie was perfectly healthy so there were no complications and my pressure went down after it."

"Is there a chance, you could have high blood pressure again?"

"I don't know."

"You didn't ask?"

"Shawn, I really didn't think I would want to have more kids after Ellie. It was just too hard."

"Really?"

"Yeah, so I never thought to ask. But we could ask on our next appointment."

"Could you have died?" And suddenly I get why he is so mad at me.

"Shawn, I am not going to die. Could I have technically died, yes if left untreated. But I know what it is and I know the symptoms now, so nothing is going to happen to me." I put my hand over his. "I honestly thought that I would have an issue getting pregnant. That is what I was worried about, not what happens when I do."

Shawn puts his head down and I can tell he is thinking. "Okay, so here is the deal. I will go to all doctor appointments. You will eat well. You will not pick up anything over 20lbs and that includes Ellie. I will be over-protective. I will very, very overprotective. And it will annoy you, but I need to be overprotective. The 3 people I care most about in this world are in this apartment and I will not let anything happen to you all. So you got to agree to this deal."

"Okay, but only as long as I am pregnant."

"Oh no, this isn't going to stop with the pregnancy. Plus seeing how easy it was to get pregnant, I want to try for 3 more." He laughs.

"Are you kidding?" Okay now I am worried.

"No, I mean apparently it is very easy to knock you up." He then starts to tickle me, laughing.

I let him for a moment, laughing. "Stop, stop" He stops when he pins me on my back. We both have to catch our breath. "You were kidding about the 3 more kids, right?"

"Yes. I mean I would love to have a lot of kids, but I know that we started a bit late for that. I just want you and Ellie and this baby to be happy and healthy."

"Okay and I will agree to the deal. As long as you remember, I am not a delicate flower and this is kind of what women do, have babies." Shawn kisses me. We lay for a while with on top of me, kissing. I feel a shoulder tapping me and I stop and look over. Ellie is standing at the foot of the bed. Her hair is all messed up from sleeping.

"Mommy, Abba, I am hungry." Shawn starts to crawl off me and gives me a look.

"Well let's see what Mommy and Abba can fix for food, sleepyhead." He gets up and helps me out of bed. Ellie goes into the kitchen and we follow.

"Let's see, we have ice cream, yogurt, milk, cheese. I could make some pasta or mac and cheese."

"Mac and cheese! Please." Ellie answers. This is her favorite dish he makes. He has learned to make it 20 different ways. Sometimes there is ham, sometimes broccoli and the cheese always varies. He gets creative and Ellie loves it. He started making it for her a long time ago and she says its her favorite food.

"Well, you knew that was coming." I smile at him and he winks back.

"And you, what would you like?"

"I will take the same and some milk please."

"Milk it is." I love it when he cooks. I remember when he officially felt comfortable cooking in my kitchen. It was a couple of weeks before he went to New York. Ellie had been sick and I couldn't stay home with her because of this huge project I was working on. I had been able to work from home a couple of days. But I really needed to go into the office. Shawn had offered to come and take care of her. That night, when I got home he was cooking us dinner. It felt so right and he looked so happy. That was a good night, other then Ellie being sick.

"So Miss Elianna, we need to pick you a flower girl dress." I pull up Shawn's computer and download the pictures he has taken. "So I think you got really confused because everyone liked different dresses, right?" She shook her head. "Okay so let's first take away the dresses that were uncomfortable. You are going to be in all day, so it can't be scratchy. Which ones were the scratchiest?" We went through everyone and I kept asking questions. By the time food was ready, we were down to 2. "So tomorrow, we will go back and look at only these 2. Okay? Just you, me and Abba."

"Okay."

"Here you two go." Shawn hands us our bowls. "So tomorrow, we will go back to the store and find one dress. Then we will go to the grocery, get some food for dinner. Then we really need to start working on your room."

"Okay." Shawn kisses both of our heads as we eat. He cleans up and brings his bowl over.

"What are you thinking about dinner?"

"I was thinking that maybe a beef stew or some chicken. What are you in the mood for?"

"Pizza." I say shyly. "Oh you mean real food. You could make that lemon chicken you do, that's good. Or the apricot chicken? You decide. You know them better then me."

"I don't know if I ever cooked for any of them." Shawn starts thinking.

"Really?"

"I was in college and broke. I lived on pizza, roman noodles and coffee."

"Oh roman noodles, so under appreciated." He smiles. "So Angela is really nice."

"You like her."

"Yes."

"I'm glad."

"Shawn, why didn't you tell me that Angela was the one who helped to pitch your book to the publisher?"

He looks at me. "I don't know."

"Did you think I would be jealous?"

"No…" He stumbles a bit on his words. "I thought that you might not like it."

"I always thought you never really kept in contact with her."

"We haven't, but every once and while we sent each other notes."

"But you never told her about us?"

"We never really talked about personal stuff, it was always about writing."

"Why not personal stuff?"

"I think because we didn't want to hurt each other."

"Oh."

"Abba?" Ellie breaks into her conversation and she has been thinking."

"Yes, Ellie."

"Did you date Angela when you were kids?"

"Yes, we did."

"How come you didn't marry her like the Matthews?"

"The mouths of babes." I whisper in his ear.

"Because it wasn't right. Corey and Topanga were always together. Me and Angela, we had fun and I thought it was forever. But she went to Europe and instead of being heartbroken, I was actually okay with it. I knew it was something she needed to do and I just thought we would find our way back."

"But you didn't, why?" I lean over the counter to them.

"Because it wasn't right. I loved her and we were good, when we were good. But it wasn't the forever kind."

"Kinda of like Daddy and Mommy?"

"Kinda." He smiles at her.

Ellie looks down and is thinking. "But what about you and Mommy? Are you the forever kind?"

He smiles at me and walks over to hug me from behind. "Yes."

"How do you know?"

"Because if your mommy said she was leaving for Europe, I would be packing my bags with her. I wouldn't let her leave. It would break me."

"What about me?"

"You, my love, I would never let anything take you away from me. Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I am your Abba. And that wasn't by birth, that was a choice. I choose you Elianna. And even if your Mommy and I weren't getting married, I would still choose you."

"Why?"

"Because you have my heart and I want nothing more than to watch you grow up, Okay?" He walks over and gives her a hug.

"Did your daddy and mommy leave when you were young? For more than just that time you got to stay with your teacher."

"What?" I ask, how did she know that. Shawn and I never really talked about it.

"Yes, Ellie they did."

"Did that make you sad?"

"Very much. How did you know that?"

"Mrs. Matthews and Angela were talking. And they said that your dad left you a lot."

"Come here." Shawn brings Ellie to the couch and I follow. "I didn't really want you to know about that." He takes a moment to think about what to say. "My dad and mom left a lot when I was a kid. I spent a lot of time missing them. It wasn't very good."

"Is that why you spent a lot of time traveling?"

"Yes."

"Then you found us?" She crawls up into Shawn's lap and I sit next to him.

"Yes, then I found you and Mommy."

"I'm glad you found us."

"Me too." I add and hug him. We sit together for a while, Ellie falls asleep.

"I am sorry I didn't tell you about Angela." Shawn says.

"I know. I am sorry I didn't tell you about my pregnancy complications."

"I know."

"Hey Shawn?"

"Yeah, I am glad we found you."

"Me too." He looks down at Elianna sleeping. "I mean it you know, I want to always be in her life, no matter what happens with us. I won't leave her."

"I know that." Shawn gets up from the couch with Elianna in his arms and brings her to bed. I start to clean up the kitchen. I open a pint of ice cream and start eating it. Shawn comes back in and grabs a spoon. "She asleep."

"Yep." He sits down on the bar stool. "I really need to talk with Corey and Topanga to be careful about what stories they tell."

"Shawn, it is okay if she knows about your childhood the good and bad."

"I don't want her to know about the bad. I don't want her to know that bad exists."

"Shawn, you do realize that Ellie already knows that. Do you think she didn't ask questions about where her father is? I remember her 3rd day of preschool, I got called because she had bitten a girl."

"What?"

"Yeah, apparently the girl made some silly comment about her not having a father. And Ellie being 3, bite her. I had to take her to psychiatrist after that. The psychiatrist said that it was normal for to her to overreact when she is confused and that Ellie was smart and I needed to be honest with her."

"So you told her about Noah."

"Yeah, I told her about him and why he didn't live with us. I mean I didn't tell her everything, but she knew that he moved far away for a job. While her mom, who had a job too, stayed." I walk over to the bookcase and start looking for a book. "Remember the first day you met her?"

"Yeah, we went to the zoo."

"She was so excited that day. I had never really introduced her to any guys, but I figured you were safe because we were just friends."

"I remember by the end of the day, I was carrying her on my shoulders."

"Yeah, you two were cute. Well anyway, she talked about you constantly after that. And… um here its is," I pull out a book with a picture she had drawn. "At school, she had to draw what she did over the weekend and she drew this." I hand Shawn the picture. It is a drawing of a little girl on a guys shoulders. And both had huge grins on their face. "When the teacher asked her who that was, she said it was her Shawn."

Shawn looks at the picture. "Shawn, you are you because of how you grew up. Its okay for her to know the good and bad. The bad is why I have always trusted you with my daughter. I always knew that if she needed you, you would be there."

"And I will." I kiss him. There is a soft knock on the door and I go to get it. Its Miya.

"I know its late, I just wanted to bring you back the camera. And to check on Ellie, is she okay?"

"Thanks Miya. Yeah, she is good. Just a little overwhelmed. We are going to go back tomorrow and pick one." Shawn answered. He likes Miya, he told me that they are a lot alike.

"I can see it being overwhelming for her. Glad she's good. Night you two."

Miya is about to leave, when Shawn stops her. "Hey Miya, we were thinking. Do you want to be the photographer for our wedding?"

"What?"

"Yeah, you have been getting good with the camera. And we want you to take the photos. We would pay you of course."

"But I am not a professional."

"No, but you are good and I can teach you some more stuff. Plus you know our family, so it will be more intimate."

"I guess that would be cool." Miya smiles. Shawn and her have this special thing going which is cute.

"Great."

"Goodnight Miya." As she leaves. "You are a good guy Shawn Hunter."

"So I've been told. Ready for bed?"

"I think so."


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning I wake up and I smell eggs. I groan a little realizing that Shawn did not make coffee. I roll out of bed and discover that Ellie is already up and they are talking about when Shawn's mom left.

"I never really knew why, sweetie. But I found out later that she wasn't my mom."

"Morning." I walk in and kiss Ellie on her bedhead. And walk over and hug Shawn from behind. "Smells good." He is making omelets. "What do you mean your mom wasn't your mom?"

"Yeah, she wrote to me after he died and told me. Apparently, my real mom took off when I was born and then my dad met my mom. "

"You never told me that?"

"Yeah, well it isn't something I think a lot about. I always kind of assumed that was why it had been so easy for her to leave."

"Did you figure out who your biological mom was?"

"No, I tried to but I couldn't really get anywhere." He poured Ellie more juice and me some tea. The omelets were almost ready.

"Would you want to try again?"

"I don't think so, it hurt a lot the first time." He put Ellie's omelet on a plate and handed it to her. Mine, he added the onions, he had been cooking.

"So your mommy, wasn't your real mommy."

"Yep."

"And your daddy left you to go find your not real mommy."

"That is right."

"That is when he stayed with your teacher." She thinks as she puts another bite in your mouth "And Mr. Turner was going to adopt you?"

"Yeah, Mr. Turner had gotten papers drawn up so he would be my legal guardian."

"And Mr. Matthews parents wanted to adopt you?"

"Yeah they offered."

"Wait how did you two get on this discussion?" I ask. Shawn sits down next to Ellie.

"She asked me what adoption meant this morning." Shawn looked at me, with a 'I don't know where this was going either' look.

"Honey, where did you hear about adoption?"

"Yesterday, Riley and Miya were talking about it. They wondered if Shawn was going to adopt me?"

I stop eating for a minute. Okay how do I answer this one.

"So you wanted to know what adoption meant?" Shawn calmly responds, turning to look at her.

"Yeah."

"Did I explain it?"

"Yeah, lots of people wanted to adopt you."

"Because I did not have parents who really wanted me. But you do."

"I know."

"Your dad loves your very much."

"But he left, like your dad."

"He got a job across the country and he had to go. It doesn't change the fact that he loves you."

"But you love me." Ellie says quietly.

"I do, very much." Shawn is looking at me for help.

"Sweetie, you are a very lucky girl. You have two dads who love you. Most kids only have 1. You also have 7 uncles and 7 aunts who love you. You have a big family." I add trying to help.

"So you don't want to adopt me?" Ellie looks a Shawn. And Shawn's heart melts, I can tell he is heartbroken.

"I would adopt you in heartbeat. But it doesn't work like that. Your dad would have to say he didn't want you. And he would never do that."

"But what if something happened to Mommy?"

"Nothing is going to happen to me, baby."

"But what if it did."

"Then your dad and I would figure out what is the best thing for you. I promise you, I will never leave you."

She looks at Shawn and she looks at me. She then smiles at him and hugs him. Shawn is still a little shocked by the conversation. Ellie gets down off of her seat and says she is going to get dressed. Shawn and I both sit in silence. I look over and Shawn is trying not to cry.

"This is why I didn't want her to know about my childhood." He says softly. "This is why I want Noah to be in her life."

"Honey, she is going to find out and she has questions."

After a long pause Shawn asks "What if something did happen to you? I cannot lose her too."

I walk over and hug him. He starts to cry in my shoulder. Shawn is not a cryer, so I know he is really upset. "I will talk to my lawyer and find out what we can do. Noah is not going to give up custody but I am also pretty sure that he wouldn't want to have her full time. Especially since you will have her sister or brother."

"I had never thought about it before, until right now."

"Shawn, nothing is going to happen to me. I am not going to leave and Ellie is not going to leave you. I promise you." Shawn's abandonment issues had always been hard for him to verbalize. They were deep and very well-worn into his psyche. He tries to play it off, but sometimes it hits him full force. "We are adults now and those things in our childhood that hurt us, we can stop. We are not our parents, and we don't have to repeat their mistakes. You need to remember that."

"I love you." He kisses me.

"We should probably get dressed and finish shopping." I stand up to quickly and get a head rush. Shawn jumps up next to me. "I'm fine, just stood up too fast."


	8. Chapter 8

The rest of the day was nice. We started to feel normal again. I almost forgot that I was pregnant, until in the middle of the grocery store, the smell of the fish aisle made me sick. I spent the rest of our grocery shopping trip, sitting in the cafe with tea. Shawn would text me questions.

Around 6, everyone started coming. It was funny because they came in waves. Auggie was the first up with Ava, which was a little annoying but cute too. Ellie was not an Ava fan, but they were in the same class so she was learning how to be polite. Then Riley and Maya. Shawn had promised to show Maya his photos. So he set them up with his computer and was explaining things as he cooked. Then Corey came and sat looking at the photos too. I came in and saw everyone there and went to help Shawn. He had some water boiling for tea and had laid out some crackers for me. We had discovered that the best way for me not to get sick was to be constantly eating. Topanga and Angela came last. They had spent the whole day out together, reconnecting.

We had a nice dinner. It was amazing how much Shawn and Angela had in common. They started talking about writers and different articles they had read. After dinner, Angela asked to see Shawn's pictures. We put them on the tv for everyone to see. Shawn explained some of his favorites. There was one, which I had never seen. It was a photo of me at the airport with Ellie in my arms. It must have been the night I picked him up from his trip to New York. He had called me and asked if I could give him a ride home. His plane was 3 hours delayed and it was like 1 in the morning. Shawn didn't think I would have stayed and was surprised to see me. But this picture was of me and Ellie. Ellie was asleep in my lap and I was kissing her head. Shawn must have taken it before I looked up and saw him.

"That is really good Shawn." Angela says. It is good, it almost looked like a Hopper painting. It showed the loneliness of the airport with the dichotomy of this woman and child caring for each other.

"Thanks."

"I never saw this." I say.

"No, I have just been playing around with it a bit."

Corey smiles and pulls out his phone. He looks for something and gives it to me. Its a text from Shawn with this picture. He writes, "this is how my life starts." I start to weal up.

"You kept that man?" Shawn asks.

Corey smiles. "It was a great picture."

"Explain." Maya demands.

"I was flying back home, after I had been here last Christmas. I already knew I was going to attempt to have a relationship with Nat. I had asked her to pick me up that night. But my flight was 3 hours delayed due to weather. It was like 1 at night. I could not imagine she had stayed and waited. Then I walked out into the lobby and there they are. I think my heart stopped. I had spent my whole life at airports watching families reunite and always having this tinge of jealousy. Then here I was and these two people were waiting for me. I grabbed my camera and took a picture. I wanted to make sure I remembered it." He finally turns to look at me and smiles.

I remember that day, not because of that picture but because what happened when Shawn walked up to us. He hugged Ellie (who had ran to him) and then we hugged me, he kissed my check. We both stopped and looked at each other and then kissed on the lips. It was sweet and gentle but addicting. He then asked if he could come home with us. I knew what he was asking. I put my hands on both sides of his face and closed my eyes. Our noses touched and I just remember thinking I cannot lose this man. He came home that night and officially moved in a month later.

"I like it." I say. Shawn walks over and his hands cup my face. And kisses my nose.

"Thank you for letting me come home."

"Well I couldn't just leave you there." I whispered and smiled. I heard Riley and Maya both say "Ahhhh."

"Okay enough of the sap, let's see what else do I have." Shawn scrolls through his computer and shows a couple more new ones that he had taken. "You know what you should see is some of Nat's stuff."

"No Shawn, they don't need to see my stuff." I add.

"I would like that." Angela says. Then Maya and Topanga say they would too. Shawn goes into our office and grabs my flash drive. He puts it in. Most of the work was done pre-Ellie. But there was some new stuff.

"So even there is a lot of graphic design, she has done some art pieces. Like this coffee table, Nat made this from this awesome piece of wood we found at a garage sale." He then goes and grabs some of my paintings. "This is my favorite one." He grabbed the faces.

"I love that." Topanga says they are mesmerizing. "Are there two faces?"

"Yeah. Its a picture of my great-grandmother and my face. Everyone said we looked a like."

"You did, that is amazing. It looks like a photo."

"Nope its dots."

"That is beautiful. You are really good." Corey adds. I had never really shown any of them my work. I left the art to Shawn.

"What were you like when you were in high school?" Riley asks. "Were you like the eccentric artist?" She said it with flare. The child is a little dramatic.

"No, I was rebellious in my own way. But I was pretty boring. For me art was the one thing that I never had to catch up with when I went to a new school. I was simply just good at it, no matter what the curriculum. So I worked on being consistent with it."

"Didn't you have blue hair one time, Mommy?" Ellie asks.

"Yes, I died my hair blue. It was my senior year and I was so annoyed with my hair. It was boring, so I got this dye. The problem was I didn't notice that it wasn't a normal color. So I dyed my hair blue, instead of the red I was going for."

"Did you get in trouble?" Maya asked.

"Honestly, I don't think my parents noticed. My 2nd brother, Micah was getting married that year and my oldest brother was having his first child. Plus my parents were moving again after I graduated. So I never really heard anything from them on it. Which was odd, but it didn't phase them. In my family, because I had so many brothers I was a little overlooked. I was never going to be as smart as they were."

"Okay I need to step in here, you were 2nd in your class." Shawn is always so shocked when I don't think that I am smart.

"Yes, but I wasn't first and I didn't graduate in 3 years and I didn't go to an Ivy. I was not successful in my parents eyes."

"Seriously." Corey asks.

"Yeah the bar is high in her family. When we visit, I usually just nod my head a lot." Shawn answers Corey.

"I always had to study up for dinner, just so I could keep up with the conversation."

"You will get to meet her parents soon. They are coming in 3 weeks for a week in the city. The plan is for them to babysit Ellie, while we go food sampling at the lodge."

"You made the plan already?"

"Yeah, your mom called while we were shopping and I thought it made sense for them to come up." I smile at him, he knew I was uncomfortable leaving Ellie with anyone else.

"Food sampling, that sounds like fun. Can I come?" Corey asks.

"Remember what I told you weird." Angela loudly whispers to Maya.

"Yeah, why don't you two come too. It could be like a couples getaway." Shawn stares at me as I offer this. I just shrug at him.

"That sounds like fun." Topanga adds.

"Then its a date. 3 weeks Lake Placid." Corey is excited.

When everyone leaves. I start cleaning up.

"Seriously a double date?" Shawn comes walking over to the kitchen.

"It could be fun. Plus you said you used do that stuff all of the time."

"Yeah when I was 17."

"It will be fine. You love them and it will be nice getting to know the two of them sans kids."

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."

"It will be fine."

"Hey I was thinking of having dinner one night with Angela to catch up. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes, it would be okay with me." I kiss him and grab his bottom. "As long as you always come home to me."

"You are stuck with me." He kisses my neck. "I think we can finish cleaning in the morning."


End file.
